A pediatrician told INSIDER it's possible for children to inhale water and have delayed, very serious complications, but this isn't called "dry drowning."

Adults should watch kids closely when they're swimming to see if they inhale any water, then keep an eye out for new symptoms.

It seems like every summer there is a new and terrifying story of a child who became seriously ill by "dry drowning."

Back in April, for example, a Florida girl nearly died after she inhaled some water in her family's pool, ABC News reported. Two days after her swim, 4-year-old Elianna Grace came down with a fever. Her oxygen levels dropped and her skin turned purple. Her mother had to rush her to the ER, where she was successfully treated.

Both instances were widely categorized as "dry drowning." But experts say that "dry drowning" isn't actually a medical condition — and that the term is frequently misused, causing lots of confusion among parents.

INSIDER spoke with pediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert to learn more about the term, and what's actually going on when kids get sick after inhaling water. Here's what parents need to know.

The word "drowning" can be misunderstood.

Burgert explained that even the term "drowning" itself is sometimes misunderstood.

"Drowning by definition is a spectrum," Burgert said. "One end of the spectrum is, you inhaled a bit of water, you self-corrected, and your body is fine. You can have an event in which you inhale water and there is absolutely no problem. The other spectrum of drowning is death."

And when a drowning does happen, there are two possible ultimate outcomes.

"You can either have a non-fatal drowning or a fatal drowning, by definition," Burgert said.

"Dry drowning" is not a thing.

The term "dry drowning" (also called "secondary drowning") is sometimes employed when a child inhales water, then ends up with a serious or even lethal sickness a few hours or days later. They "drown," in other words, once they're out of the pool and dry.

But "dry drowning" isn't a medical term.

"There is no such thing as a dry drowning, or a secondary drowning, or any of these other terms that we see in the media," Burgert said.

When you inhale water, Burgert explained, your body responds by creating inflammation in the affected parts of the lungs. It's a self-defense mechanism — a way to shut down those parts of the lungs until they can be repaired. The problem is that the inflammation may shut down too much of lungs, she said, and then you may not get enough oxygen. Left untreated, aspiration pneumonia could be fatal.

It takes a little while for this self-defense to kick in, so the symptoms may seem delayed — but they will be noticeable.

"The kids that are starting to have aspiration pneumonia start to appear unwell. They look sick. I think the biggest symptom that you are going to be watching for is increasing fatigue, increasing cough, and a lot of kids are going to complain of nausea or vomiting," Burgert said. "You can tell that your child does not feel well."

The treatment consists of oxygen therapy, time, and in rare cases, a breathing machine, she added.

Experts say parents shouldn't panic. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Aspiration pneumonia is a frightening complication, but it doesn't happen to all kids who go swimming or even all kids who cough on some water in a pool. In its 2017 statement, the ACEP stressed that parents shouldn't panic.

"Parents are being unduly alarmed by media reports suggesting that children can die from drowning a week after swimming," ACEP president Dr. Rebecca Parker said in the statement. "If a child has breathing problems at any time, the parent should take him or her to the emergency department. But there are no cases of completely normal, asymptomatic patients who suddenly die because they went swimming a few days ago."

Burgert said there's not enough data to determine the risk of a kid developing aspiration pneumonia after inhaling water. But she also said it's not cause for pool avoidance.

"I will tell you that [the risk] is small enough that I'm still taking my kids to the pool this summer," she added. "This is not something that's keeping me away from the great memories and the great times and the great exercise of a kid being in a pool."

It's important to watch kids when they're playing in the water.

Burgert also said it's crucial for parents or guardians to closely watch kids who are playing in the water. It's a basic rule of water safety, for one thing. Plus, if you don't see a kid cough or sputter in the water, you may not know to look for concerning symptoms later on.

"It's important to be witnessing your children play and really see if they've had an event where they're coming up choking or sputtering," she said. "That's going to determine how much you watch them later."